chiliad
by natodiangelo
Summary: n. a thousand things or a thousand years A thousand moments isn't enough to tear them apart. (a group of 100 drabbles)


i found some prompts on tumblr and decided to write something for each one ((natodiangelo . tumblr post /163281944038/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you))

they will be posted in groups of 10 whenever i get them done

also please feel free to request me to write a certain pairing, au, theme, etc. that will help give me ideas on how to write the rest of them!

warnings/pairings for each prompt will be at the beginning of each chapter, so if theres something you dont want to read you can skip it

* * *

1\. gen  
2\. gen  
3\. promptis  
4\. gen  
5\. gen  
6\. promptis  
7\. gen  
8\. angst (CHAPTER 13-14 SPOILERS)  
9\. promptis  
10\. gen

* * *

1\. "Pull over. Let me drive for awhile."

The sun has long set they meet the half way mark in their drive. Prompto's passed out in the passenger seat, and even Gladio is nodding off, arms crossed and head leaned back. Noctis has been blessed with the ability to sleep just about anywhere and any time, but that doesn't mean he always does it. Ignis is yawning from the driver's seat and Noctis would be a horrible friend not to help out.

"Pull over." He says, softly in the quiet. "Let me drive for awhile."

"Driving at night is dangerous, Noct." Ignis cautions, but Noctis can hear in his voice how much he'd like to relax.

"It'll be fine, Iggy. I'm more worried about you falling asleep right there and killing us all."

Ignis sighs, and a moment later he's pulling off to the side of the road. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you do have a point."

"Of course I do." Noctis hops out as soon as the car stops moving, stretching his back as Ignis moves to the back seat.

It's been a while since he's driven – Ignis claims its to preserve their lives, but Noctis just thinks he likes being in control. Which, most of the time, is more than fine by him. He'd much rather take a nap or chat with Prompto than have Iggy yelling at him because he forgot his turn signal. But right now, it's _his_ turn to take one for the team.

"Just relax, Specs. I won't crash."

"Of course. Your track record absolutely supports that statement."

"Hey, it was only once or twice, okay – and to be fair, Prompto had been distracting me."

"Well, luckily he's asleep, so hopefully you will be able to remain more vigilant."

"Will do."

He drives in silence after that. Prompto is snoring beside him, Gladio mumbling behind him, and Ignis is slowly starting to drift off against the window. Noctis avoids potholes as best he can so they can rest in peace.

2\. "It reminded me of you."

"…What is this?" Noctis asks, holding… whatever it was in his hands. Talcott stands proudly in front of him, hands gesturing as he explains.

"It's a rare cactuar-moogle collectable item! It has the cactuar's awesome fighting abilities with the moogle's protection to make an unbeatable opponent!" Talcott is grinning wide and bright, eyes shining as he looks up at Noctis. "It reminded me of you!"

Noctis looks down at the toy, still not quite able to place which pieces were cactuar and which were moogle, but he still feels his heart warm a little. He kneels down to look Talcott in the eye and smiles.

"Thank you, Talcott. I love it."

Talcott _beams._ "I knew you would!"

"You should show me the rest of your collection."

"Okay! I've got all of the normal cactuars, but there's still a ton of rare ones I haven't found…"

3\. "No, no, it's my treat."

Noctis isn't big on coffee. Or at least, coffee that isn't sweet. It's _bitter_ and _gross_ and _killing him from the mouth out_ and really just in general _not worth it._ But today as he passes by a café one of the drinks on a poster catches his eye. The bell chimes as he pushes open the door, and suddenly the smell of coffee is all around him. He wrinkles his nose a little, flashing back to Ignis with his cup of black hell, before walking up the counter.

What greets him there is a little more than a sweet surprise.

The person behind the counter is probably the most attractive person Noctis has _ever_ seen – and that's saying something, since he's friends with both Aranea _and_ Gladio.

He's blond with deep blue eyes, dark lashes curled around them in a completely unfair way. Freckles _cover_ his face, dark across his nose and cheeks and dispersing toward his chin. He turns toward him with a smile that could outshine the sun, and when he asks for Noctis' order he can't remember the name of the drink he saw outside.

"I, uh," He swallows, licks his lips. "Just give me something sweet."

"You got it!"

As soon as he turns around to start making the mystery drink, Noctis takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. It's just a cute guy. A really cute guy. So what? No need to lose your cool over some dude with what turns out to be a really nice ass-

When the guy comes back to the counter with his drink, Noctis is positive he's red.

"Here you go." He pushes the drink over to him, and Noctis tries for a smile as he pulls out his wallet.

"How much?"

"Oh, no, uh, this is my treat."

Noctis looks up at him in surprise.

"Just- call the number on the cup later? As, um, compensation."

Across the side of the cup _is_ a number, along with _Prompto 3_. Noctis feels himself heat up even more.

"Will do."

He swears his heart stops beating at the smile he gets before he leaves.

(And later, when he calls, he tells Prompto just how much he likes his smile, and finds out that his laugh can absolutely kill.)

4\. "Come here. Let me fix it."

Prompto isn't the most coordinated person. He stumbles a lot and trips on his own feet and more often than not ends up on his ass during a fight. It's something he's accepted, and it usually does no more harm than some bruising.

But this time…

"It's ruined!" He cries, holding his vest to his chest. "I'm… I'm gonna miss you, buddy… You were the best vest I ever could have had…"

Gladio rolls his eyes at him. Noctis offers some of his own clothes. Ignis simply sighs.

"Come here, Prompto. Let me fix it."

"You can fix it?" Prompto looks at Ignis with hope in his eyes, and Ignis can't help but sigh again.

"Of course I can. It's simply a rip. The fabric is still in good condition." He takes the vest from Prompto's shaky hands and folds it over his arm. "I'll have it back to you tomorrow morning."

"You're the best, Ignis!"

"I know."

5\. "I'll walk you home."

Noctis hasn't seen Luna in _forever._ Well, that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but a few months is _much_ too long to go without seeing your best friend. Regardless of the fact that they call at least once a week to check in, because that's really besides the point.

The point is, Noctis hasn't seen Luna in a while, and now they're finally going to hang out.

They decide on a coffee shop, because Luna needs her caffeine Noctis needs his sugar. Luna gets there before him, of course, but only because _Prompto_ made him late.

("I didn't _make_ you late, you _chose_ to play video games with me! Not my fault you didn't check the time.")

They talk. And talk. And talk. And it's really so reminiscent of when they had first become friends that Noctis can't help but become a little sentimental. Luna was his first friend, is his _best_ friend, and he's… he feels _lucky_ to know her.

He doesn't say that, of course. He has an image to keep up.

It's a couple hours later that they finally acknowledge that their drinks are gone and that they should probably stop hogging a table, so they throw away their cups and join the ever flowing crowd outside.

"It was really nice talking to you, Noctis." Luna says. "We need to make sure we get together more often."

"Definitely."

They walk for a moment in a comfortable silence, and _this_ is one of the things (among the many) he loves about Luna: she doesn't force him to talk.

A minute later, though, as they get closer to the edge of town and Noctis realizes that they both probably need to go home soon, he opens his mouth.

"Where are you going after this?"

"Just home."

"I'll walk you there."

Luna laughs. "You don't need to, it's fine-"

"I want to."

So he walks her home. They chat more on the way, and by the time they get there he doesn't want to say goodbye. But Luna gives him one last hug and then makes her way inside, so he turns around and starts trudging toward his own home.

At least he won't be returning to an empty house, he thinks, since Prompto's probably still where he left him, sprawled across the couch playing video games. The thought puts a smile on his face and the walk doesn't seem quite as long.

6\. "Have a good day at work."

The sun has barely risen when Noctis is pulled into consciousness, which is a crime of its own. Shadows cast in dim light dance across the walls as Prompto moves around, getting dressed and collecting the things he needs for the day. It really is unfortunate that his work starts so early – not for Prompto, who naturally wakes up early, but for Noctis, who would much rather have time to laze around in bed with him.

"Good morning." Noctis yawns, turning onto his side to face Prompto. Prompto looks at him guiltily.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine. Not like I can't go back to sleep once you leave."

"Still."

"Come here." Noctis sits up, waiting for Prompto to drop down next to him. He pulls him close and presses a soft kiss to his lips. "Don't worry about it."

"Alright." Prompto sighs against him. It's slow and warm, and Prompto's fingers working their way into his bedhead feels much too nice, because he knows Prompto has to leave soon.

"Call in sick," Noctis mumbles against his lips, cupping Prompto's face and smoothing one thumb over his cheek. "Lay back down with me."

Prompto laughs and pulls away. "You know I can't."

Noctis pouts, because he knows it'll get another one of those beautiful laughs out of Prompto, before flopping onto his side.

"It's almost the weekend," Prompto says, standing back up to finish getting ready. "Then you can have me all to yourself."

"Yeah, I know." He watches Prompto's back as he moves; watches his reflection in the mirror as he does his makeup, watches as he digs around for his belt, watches as he smacks all of his pockets until he finds the one holding his phone.

Then Prompto's above him leaning down, ruffling his hair with one gloved hand.

"Have a good day, Noct."

"Yeah, you too. Don't die at work."

"I doubt taking a picture will kill me."

"There was that one time…"

Prompto groans. "Ugh, don't remind me."

Noctis pulls him down for one last kiss before watching him leave. Then, he rolls over and goes back to sleep.

7\. "I dreamt about you last night."

"I dreamt about you last night, Noct." Prompto starts over breakfast one morning, legs crossed in his fold-out chair and mouth full. "You were being chased by a cute little chocobo."

"Dream?" Gladio says. "I think you mean last week."

"I was not being _chased_ I was… leading it away!"

"Of course," Ignis interjects. "You had reasons for leading it away from the chocobo post while you were screaming, I assume?"

Noctis shoves another bite into his mouth and grumbles.

"No, but that's not all!" Prompto continues, waving his fork vaguely in the air. "Noct was running, screaming, blah blah… and then the chocobo turned around…" He pauses, fork stilling as he looks around at them. "It was actually a giant broccoli!"

Noctis makes a face. "That's even worse."

"Dream?" Gladio repeats. "I think you mean last week."

 _"Hey!"_

Ignis takes a long sip from his mug. "It's interesting to hear you say that, Prompto. Generally the people in dreams tend to be _different_ somehow from their real life counterparts."

"Ignis, I do _not_ scream at broccoli, okay-"

"Give it up, kid. We all know by now, no point trying to hide it."

Prompto's laughing into his hand, desperately trying to swallow the bite he took before it ends up all over his lap. Noctis wants him to choke.

"Did you really have to bring that dream up, Prompto?"

Prompto nods frantically, swallowing loudly before bursting out into laughter. "I _definitely_ needed to, dude. Dreams like that happen for a reason."

Noctis sighs. "Well, at least I don't have nightmares about Aranea."

All three of them speak up at that.

"Okay, that was _one time_ and can you blame me-"

"She's a _monster_ , Noct, nearly took _me_ down with one hit-"

"She _is_ quite a fierce opponent-"

"Her heels, man," Prompto says with wide eyes. "She could step on me, like, _once_ and it'd probably kill me."

8\. "Take my seat."

It's a guilt that Noctis doesn't think will ever leave, always eating away at the back of his mind – it's knowing that it's _his_ fault, and no one else's, no excuses. No way to back himself out of this emotion like he always tries, because he's a _king_ and he has to take responsibility.

(Even if it's slowly killing him, because rulers must protect their people, even at their own demise.)

It's a guilt that's at the forefront of his mind constantly, tensing his shoulders and creasing his brow. It's a guilt that squeezes his heart so tight he might die as he watches his friend try to follow along.

It's the guilt that he's hurt the people he loves irreparably.

(A guilt that he deserves, because if he's alive, he didn't protect them as well as he could have, and that's inexcusable.)

His eyes are steady on Ignis' hobbling form, sturdy muscle covered by strong skin that just wasn't strong enough. Prompto is on one arm and Gladio on the other, leading him forward as they approach an inn. He should be there, too, carrying the weight of his friend on his back, trying to repay the priceless thing he couldn't protect.

But he's not. Gladio will force him away, Prompto will send a pained sort of sympathetic look, and Ignis will be none the wiser, because Noctis hasn't spoken in longer than he can remember.

(It reminds him, suddenly and painfully, of that time when he was a kid, small and hurt and untrusting of the world, holed up in his room. He had led Ignis out during that time, gotten him in trouble just so Noctis could breathe. This is how he repays him?)

Noctis pays for the room as the other two take Ignis to it, murmuring quietly to each other. He doesn't want to follow – doesn't feel right to, so he sits down in one of the armchairs by the fire and waits for them to return.

He's heard Gladio's words and he _knows_ they're true – he needs to stop moping and start _doing,_ needs to become a king worthy of the kingdom they're fighting to save. He can't be brought down by a measly emotion, no matter how much of his chest it obstructs, no matter how hard it's been to breathe lately, no matter how much he wants to tear his hair out and scream.

But it's hard. The bottle he used to shove his feelings into before isn't big enough, not with everything else he's had to shut away. It's overflowing and the lid is about to burst, but he forces another few years worth of emotional burden into it anyways, because he can deal with it later, when he's had all the best doctors look at Ignis, and bought the world for Prompto, and given Gladio anything he could want and more.

Not until his friends are _happy._

His Guards walk into the lobby slowly, carefully watching after Ignis. His chest pangs and he stands up as they come closer, realizing he's taken the chair closest to the fire.

"Take my seat." He tells Ignis, though he really tells Gladio, who leads Ignis forward without a word and lowers him into the chair. Noctis stands and watches, and he doesn't know how his face must look to force Prompto to stand next to him and lead him, with the same care as he leads Ignis, to the couch to sit.

It's hard in that moment, watching Prompto look at him with such concern, eyebrows creased far too much, lips pursed and eyes pained, to not cry. The wall he had built as a child – the one Prompto had scampered over with such skill and deft Noctis had been left in awe, the one Ignis tried to take down brick by brick, the one Gladio broke a hole into with one fist – the wall is being remade, pulled back up from where he's stored it all those years, unused and unnecessary.

Ignis winces as he settles into the chair and tries to lean the cane against the side, unable to balance it properly. Another brick. Prompto biting his nails and taping his foot and darting his eyes around the room, clearly anxious to the tips of his hair. Another layer complete. Gladio with his arms crossed so tense the muscles in his neck stick out, face marred with scars and eyes dark. Almost finished.

He's going to protect them, he tells himself. He _will_ this time, and he won't die until they're safe in their homes, happy and healthy and ready to live the rest of their lives. He'll fight _whoever is against them_ until he can't stand, give up his arms, his legs, his body to keep them safe. He'll offer himself as sacrifice for their safety.

It's that thought that keeps him going, as he stands to ask about dinner. It's that thought that keeps him from screaming as Ignis trips, keeps him from running off and killing the empire right then when he hears Prompto crying at night.

He will die for them, like his dad and Luna and countless others died for him.

9\. "I saved a piece for you."

It's late when Noctis gets home, opening the door as quietly as he can in case Prompto is asleep. Work went late and even though Prompto had texted him just a few hours before telling him not to worry about it, he might have fallen asleep already. The sounds of the TV playing in the living room kill that thought, but he still tries not to make too much noise as he pulls off his shoes and stumbles into the room.

Prompto is curled up in a blanket on the couch, knees to his chest and head resting on his shoulder. He looks over when Noctis walks in, and his sleepy face breaks into a grin.

"Hey, babe," He says as Noctis slumps down on top of him, giving him a messy hug. "Welcome home."

Noctis groans some kind of reply. He's _exhausted_ , and he would like nothing more than to fall asleep right here in his boyfriend's arms.

Well, there's a couple things he'd like more than that, like vegetables that taste good or to finally beat that one high score Prompto has been holding over his head for the last five years – but falling asleep in his boyfriend's arms is pretty high up there.

"Long day?"

"You have no idea."

Prompto leans down and kisses the top of his head, running his fingers through his hair. "Ignis came by earlier. He tried out this new cake recipe and wanted us to have some. I saved a piece for you."

"Prompto, have I told you I love you?"

"More times than I can count, but keep saying it."

"I love you." He yawns, of course, because what's more romantic than giving your partner a face full of breath before you've had time to brush your teeth? "I'll have to eat it in the morning. Too tired."

"You wanna go to bed?"

"Yes, please."

Prompto grabs the remote and turns off whatever show he was watching.

"…You have to get up to go to bed, you know."

"Carry me?"

"You and me both wish I could do that."

Noctis laughs, because he does know that Prompto wishes he could do that, the way that Noctis has done for him countless times, just to show off, and drags himself away from his warm, warm boyfriend.

"You could talk to Gladio," Noctis says, making his way to the bathroom. Prompto groans, and Noctis holds back another laugh; they've had this conversation before. "I'm sure he could help you with that."

"Yeah, if I _survived._ "

"It's not so bad."

"He told me you threw up the first few times you trained with him!"

"Yeah, well, he was less gentle as a kid. He's leagues better now."

Noctis watches Prompto come up behind him from the mirror as he spreads toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"I'll leave you with his gentleness, then."

"Guess I'll continue to be the upper body strength of this relationship."

"Yeah, and I'll continue to run miles around you without breaking a sweat."

Noctis smiles before he shoves the toothbrush in his mouth. He mumbles around it, "Gladio could help with that, too."

Prompto sighs again, taking the toothpaste from him. "Why do you want me to train with him so bad?"

"You with abs is teenage-me's best wet dream."

"Ugh, you got toothpaste and spit all over me, stop talking."

"Rude."

They brush in peace for a moment before Noctis finishes and rinses out his mouth.

"You with abs is teenage-me's best wet dream." He repeats.

"I heard you the first time."

Maybe Noctis is tired, but beneath Prompto's freckles his face seems to be becoming red. Noctis points out as much, and dodges the punch Prompto throws at him.

"Can't a guy brush his teeth in peace?"

"You gave that up when you said _yes_."

Prompto shakes his head with fake remorse. "Worse decision of my life."

" _Hey!"_

Prompto ducks his head to rinse his mouth before turning back to Noctis.

"I'm joking."

"I know. I'm the best thing to ever happen to you."

Prompto smiles fondly for a moment, staring at him, before responding. "Do I need to remind you of _that one game?"_

Noctis pales. "No, please, I'm sorry-"

"I got such a high score!" Prompto teases, chasing him into the bedroom and onto the bed. "You tried for _weeks_ to beat it! _Weeks!"_ He stares down at Noctis, hair a mess around his head, face rosy and eyes bright. "But you _couldn't."_

"I give! Stop!"

" _That's_ the best thing to ever happen to me." Prompto finishes, sitting back and allowing Noctis to move to his side of the bed. Noctis gives a long groan as he flops face down into the pillows.

"I thought you had forgotten about it." He mumbles into the pillow. Prompto laughs.

"As if I could remember the _one_ time I did better than you."

Noctis grumbles again.

"Get changed. You always complain in the morning when you fall asleep wearing your work clothes."

"Yeah, yeah, _mom."_

10\. "I'm sorry for your loss."

They had stopped by a chocobo rental earlier in the day, knowing that they would likely be helpful in the days to come. They had leads on some monster activity out far enough into the forests that the regalia wouldn't be of much help, and the chocobos would be a more efficient way to travel.

Noctis and Prompto were feeding them now as Ignis finished up dinner.

"And some for you-" Prompto said, holding out the food to one of the chocobos, waiting for it to take the food before moving to the next. "-and some for _you-_ "

Noctis was watching amusedly from behind, absentmindedly petting one on the head. Their feathers were so soft that it was hard to resist petting them.

Ignis was making curry tonight, which had Prompto in good spirits. Well, the chocobos helped too. They hadn't had it for awhile, and even though it had – dare he say the word – vegetables, he was looking forward to it himself.

Gladio, however, had declined. "I've got everything I need right here." He had held up a cup of noodle proudly, as Ignis sighed and Noctis and Prompto shared a look. Noctis liked cup of noodle as much as the next guy, but Gladio was on a whole other level.

Noctis could hear him slurping it now, along with moans of how delicious it was. It was funny in a ridiculous kind of way, and refreshing to see Gladio put down his tough guy act for a while.

"-and some for _you-"_ Prompto continued, smoothing his hand along the chocolos' feathers as it ate from his hand. Noctis really had to give it to him – he was _amazing_ with animals, and as much as they liked him as well it was nothing compared to how crazy they went over Prompto.

Noctis couldn't blame them, of course. Prompto was just the kind of person who couldn't help but attract others, even if he felt it was the opposite.

While Noctis had been lost in thought, the chocobo he was petting became impatient. It left his side and began walking around the rest of camp. Noctis wasn't too concerned; these happened to be chocobos that they frequently rented, and so it wasn't likely that they would do anything weird. They were trained not to, either way, so he had nothing to worry about.

Which, of course, couldn't be said for one of their group.

Noctis was still watching Prompto when he heard it: a deep, long, painful cry and the sound of something sizzling. It was followed by a chocobo's heartfelt _kweh_. Noctis and Prompto both turned toward the scene to see what had happened.

Gladio was kneeling by the fire, face in his hands. The chocobo was now pestering Ignis, who was watching Gladio with the same concern as the other two.

"Gladio?" Noctis asked, coming up behind him. "What's wrong?"

Prompto came up on his other side and gasped, pointing at the fire.

Sitting in the fire was the source of the sizzling sound: Gladio's cup noodle, noodles spilled out across the ground burning.

"Did something happen?" Ignis asked, joining the three.

"No-"

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Prompto interrupted, patting Gladio on the back with a look of sympathetic pain. Gladio lets out a groan of anguish.

Ignis seemed to notice what had happened, and stalked back off to his station to finish dinner. Noctis swore he saw him roll his eyes.

"Good thing I made the normal amount." Ignis comments. The chocobo comes up to his side again, and is Noctis saw him slip the chocobo some meat, it's a trick of the light.


End file.
